University Round 1

I, Francis J. Worthington III, am not happy. When I enrolled here at La Fiesta Tech, I did so with the understanding that I would be living alone in a campus house.

Alone, as in ‘without a roommate.’ If I had wanted a rooommate, I would have applied to live in the dorms with the rest of the riff raff.

At the last minute, however, I am informed by my father, Francis Worthington II, that I will not, in fact, be living alone. He made this arrangement with an old Army buddy of his… some general or other from Strangetown… and now, I must live with this guy’s son.

His name is Tank something or other and he is the oddest fellow I have ever met.

All he does when he is not in class is … work out. Or “PT” as he calls it.

He is out there, jumping rope… day…

… and night. And yes, despite his insistence that “zero five hundred” is morning and not night time, it is precisely nighttime to me. A time to sleep and not muster on the front lawn for calisthenics.

I have tried, of course, to get along with Tank.

We even made a pact. If he went to some of the campus hang outs with me and attempted to loosen up a bit, I would join him for his morning works… for a while.

I can’t believe the big oaf actually did it. He might not be so bad after all, if he can just get his head out that whole ‘RoTC’ mentality.

During our morning jogs, Tank confided that he was really joining the Army to please his father and that, once his five year ‘hitch’ was up, he would like to open up a fitness center. Fitness, it seems, is something of a passion for him.

I found myself thinking of this information as I studied for my midterms. I think I can help Tank out with this goal of his. I have money, certainly, and he has the vision. We could make it happen.

Hi, it’s me, Ophelia Nigmos, and if you’re wondering why I’m talking to you from the bathroom, it’s because the bathroom is the one place I am totally alone with my thoughts.

Lately, I have a lot those, too.

My aunt is dead, the woman who raised me after my parents’ deaths. She left me next to nothing, and instead left the house and everything to some guy I have never head of before. Nervous or Neville or whatever his name is. Aunt Olive’s lawyer said that he was named as her heir in her will.

Whatever.

It’s not like I actually wanted to go running back to that place ever again. I have a new life just starting for me here at La Fiesta Tech.

It’s been strange being without Johnny and Ripp. They are both at Academie La Tour and although we email each other often, I do not have them to pal around with.

I’ve been making new friends, and even joined the Tri-Fruhm sorority. Maybe I will move in with them next year.

I also met a woman who claims she is a witch. I always thought Aunt Olive was one of those, but apparently, there are real ones! She seems really interesting and can do some neat things.

… Like chasing away the rain and summoning butterflies. I wonder what else she can do and if she will teach me.

I ran into Tank Grunt the other day. Tank is Ripp’s brother. He’s in the ROTC program here at La Fiesta Tech. I remember the General bragging about it right before left.

I never really gave Tank the time of day before, but he’s a familiar face and sometimes I miss those. We play chess a lot and have had some interesting conversations.

He’s got this roommate, Francis Worthington, who is a total snob. Tank says that Francis makes him do all the menial housework while he studies or hangs out with those people in the funny jackets.

What a waste.

I keep telling Tank he should move out, but he says Francis is ‘an okay guy’ he guesses. That’s Tank-ese for ‘my dad expects me to live with this jerk’ I think.

Somewhere along the way, I have found myself slowly getting over my crush on Johnny Smith. He was my first crush and my first kiss, but he is so far away… and finally starting to admit to himself that his heart belongs to someone else. I always knew but I had still kind of hoped, you know?

But now, I have met Ira… Ira Straight.. and he is a pretty great guy.

Although, I’ll be honest, I’m not looking for anything permanent, and Ira understands. We hook up sometimes, but aren’t trying to tie each other down. I think that is for the best right now. There will be plenty of time later on to find that elusive ‘true love’ if it even exists.